ISLAMABAD/KARACHI: The Supreme Court on Wednesday held in abeyance for two months its Oct 4 order directing the government to evict illegal occupants from 4,268 federal government quarters in Karachi.

The order was suspended after Attorney General Anwar Mansoor informed a three-judge SC bench headed by Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar that the law and order situation arose when Rangers and police launched an operation to vacate the government quarters at a colony in the city on Wednesday. The attorney general sought some time to resolve the issue through negotiations and other peaceful means.

The apex court had on Oct 4 ordered the inspector general of Sindh police and the Rangers director general to provide adequate manpower and support to housing departments in order to evict the illegal occupants from the government quarters. The order had also required the Accountant General of Pakistan Revenues to recover outstanding dues from the occupants after serving notices on them under Rule 11(9)(a)(c) of the Accommodation Allocation Rules 2002.

The directives were issued after the court was informed that the occupants were not paying dues and most of them were pensioners. The court was also told that in the wake of the peculiar situation in Karachi, it was impossible for the housing ministry to obtain physical possession of the government-owned houses and, therefore, police aid was required.

Several injured in clash between law enforcers and occupants of Pakistan Quarters in Karachi; 13 arrested and booked under PPC sections

After hearing the attorney general, the chief justice allowed the government to settle matter of vacating the properties through peaceful means by avoiding the law and order situation. The chief justice also emphasised the need for developing a proper policy about the occupation of federal government houses and observed that “we cannot allow our children and widows to be evicted just like that”.

Earlier, in a one-page application, Additional Attorney General Nayyar Abbas Rizvi had sought six months’ time to settle the matter amicably. He said the operation against illegal and unlawful occupants had led to the law and order situation in Karachi and the government needed some time to resolve the matter through negotiations with the people living in the quarters.

Clash between protesters, law enforcers

Several people, including journalists and policemen, were injured when a significant portion of Pakistan Quarters in Karachi turned into a battlefield between law enforcement personnel and alleged illegal occupants of the federal housing colony.

Jamshed SP Shamyl Riaz Malik told Dawn that six inspectors belonging to the federal housing department arrived in the city for execution of the SC order in “letter and spirit”. He said the preparation for the operation started at 9am on Wednesday, but they had reports that “illegal occupants and miscreants” had already stocked stones, bricks and sticks and other hard objects from Tuesday late night.

As the contingents of law enforcers, including lady police, entered the area at around 2pm, they came under attack and several policemen and media persons got injured. The SP claimed that police used only 10 shells to disperse the protesters.

“We did not expect such resistance for eviction,” said the officer, adding that the protesters set a garbage collection vehicle on fire.

“We exercised maximum restraint and moved only baton-wielding policemen and lady police while armed policemen remained at a distance,” claimed the officer, adding that the resistance forced the police to use tear gas, water cannon and resort to baton charge to disperse the mob.

“Police arrested 13 persons who were booked under nine sections of the Pakistan Penal Code pertaining to riots, damaging public property, causing obstructions for officials to perform their duty, etc,” the Jamshed SP said. He said some protesters also became unconscious due to shelling by police, but denied casualty of a woman as reported by a section of the media.

“We received seven policemen brought with minor injuries at Dr Ruth Pfau Civil Hospital,” said police surgeon Aijaz Khokhar. All of them were discharged after treatment.

Dr Seemin Jamali, executive director of JPMC, said two media persons with minor injuries were brought to the hospital for treatment.

As the use of force created the law and order problem, the Sindh chief minister took notice of the matter. “Under orders of the Sindh government, eviction operation was stopped,” according to the city police chief.

“A committee comprising DIGs of East Amir Farooqi and of CIA Amin Yousufzai has been formed to conduct an inquiry into the incident,” added Additional IG Karachi Dr Amir Ahmed Shaikh.

“The eviction action was carried out under the order of the judiciary by the institutions concerned and the police provided protection to them,” said a police spokesperson. “Angry mob attacked the police and pelted them with stones, causing injuries to several policemen.”

Politicians show solidarity

Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan leaders Farooq Sattar, Kanwar Naveed Jamil and Amir Khan arrived in Pakistan Quarters and expressed solidarity with the protesters. They demanded the evictions be halted and that the chief justice of Pakistan take notice of the incident.

The protesters also chanted slogans against the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf government when the party’s MPA Jamal Siddiqi arrived at the place.

Published in Dawn, October 25th, 2018

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